


Forest Cover

by ViimaTheFailcat



Series: Forest Cover [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Animal Spirit, M/M, Pre-Slash, Spirit World, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 18:12:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1718768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViimaTheFailcat/pseuds/ViimaTheFailcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dwalin gets wounded in a battle near woodland. Luckily a young owl spirit is kind enough to nurse him back to health.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forest Cover

**Author's Note:**

> "Forest cover" is a phenomenon in Finnish folklore where people get lost in the wilderness and sometimes are never seen again.
> 
> Read more at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mets%C3%A4npeitto

There had been an attack on the castle. Fortunately, the attacking army was quickly fought off by the king’s army and the skilled captain. But this story is not about the battle.

 

This story is about the skilled captain, Dwalin Fundinson, who lead the king’s victorious army in the battle. Dwalin Fundinson, who went missing after the battle.

 

Dwalin had gotten a mortal wound in the battle. Disoriented, the captain staggered towards the nearby woodland and collapsed. After that, no one had seen him. The battle was won, but the captain was nowhere to be found. To humans, at least.

 

***

 

A young owl spirit named Ori had noticed the wounded captain enter the woodlands and had dove in to help him, spiriting him away into forest cover so predators wouldn’t find him. He landed near the warrior and inspected his wounds. He didn’t know how serious the warrior’s wounds were, but he supposed it was bad, judging by the amount of blood. But then again, he knew that humans were weak and this would probably be harmful. He moved to the warrior’s head and set his beak on his forehead, letting his magic flow into the warrior, healing his wounds.

 

***

 

The woods around Dwalin had gone quiet and he thought it meant he was close to dying. He sighed and closed his eyes, accepting his fate. He had lived a good life, having a good position in the king’s guards and even befriended the king. He had no regrets and he made peace with death. Dwalin sighed again and warmth flooded his body, the pain in his wounds disappearing. Dwalin closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off.

 

***

 

Ori leant back when the warrior’s wounds had stopped bleeding. Now they would close up on their own, sped up by Ori’s magic, if the warrior stayed still. He was breathing calmly and he seemed relaxed. Ori assumed he was asleep, so he decided to let him sleep and rest.

 

***

 

Dwalin blinked slowly as he woke. It was dark around him, but he could sense some movement near him. He turned his head and groaned. Something shuffled closer to him and Dwalin could have sworn he felt a gentle touch of lips on his forehead as he slowly lost consciousness again.

 

“Go back to sleep,” a soft voice said.

 

***

 

The warrior woke up in the middle of healing. Ori made him fall asleep again so he wouldn’t move and interrupt the healing process.

 

***

 

When Dwalin woke up again, it was still dark around him. He blinked and frowned. Was this the afterlife? He lifted himself to his elbows, groaning softly.

 

“Don’t move,” a voice came from nearby, “I don’t know if your wounds are fully healed.” Dwalin looked around, but only saw a red-brown owl sitting on a basket.

 

“How are you feeling?” it asked.

 

Dwalin stared.

 

After a while, the owl shuffled uncomfortably and hopped off the basket. “I brought you food.”

 

“Thank you,” Dwalin said numbly, propped himself against a tree and reached for the basket and pulled it closer. There was some bread, cheese and ham in it, with a bottle of cool milk.

 

“W-will that do?” the owl asked hesitantly, “I’m not sure what people eat so I just brought something…”

 

Dwalin nodded, grabbing the bread. “This will do just fine, lad. Thank you.” He turned back to the owl and promptly dropped his bread.

 

The owl had disappeared and there was a young man with red-brown hair and freckles sitting on his knees in its place. “You’re welcome,” he smiled.

 

Dwalin gaped wordlessly, for so long that the man started to look worried. “Are you okay?”

 

Dwalin finally got his brain back in gear. “Did you just… Where did the owl go?”

 

The man was quiet for a moment. “That… The owl is me,” he said slowly, “I am an owl spirit.”

 

Dwalin blinked and looked at the man. Suddenly everything made sense. The man’s hair was the same exact colour as the owl’s feathers and the robes he was wearing were certainly not human-made.

  
“Ah,” Dwalin said.

 

The man grabbed the bread and gave it to Dwalin. “Now, eat. You need to regain your strength.” Dwalin took the bread and thanked the spirit. A silence fell between them as Dwalin ate.

 

“My name is Ori, by the way,” the spirit says.

 

“Dwalin, son of Fundin,” Dwalin says and gives a curt bow with his head, “at your service.”

 

The last bit seemed to amuse Ori. “At my service indeed,” he murmured.

 

Dwalin frowned. “What?”

 

Ori smiled and it was once again clear that he wasn’t human. “You owe me now,” he said in a smooth, monotone voice. He moved, resting his hand on Dwalin’s chest and bending close to Dwalin’s face. “You owe me your life.” Dwalin could feel Ori’s breath on his lips.

 

“Aye,” Dwalin agreed, “That I do. How could I repay my debt?”

 

Ori caressed Dwalin’s chest. “Come live with me. In these woods,” he said, “You would live longer than you would in the human world. You would be more powerful.”

 

Dwalin leant his head back. “I’ll think about it,” he said.

 

Ori blinked and frowned. “Oh.” He pulled back a bit. “Okay.”

 

Dwalin popped the remains of the bread into his mouth as Ori shuffled backwards. “Any other options?”

 

“You go back to your life and I will come for you when there’s something you can do to repay me,” the owl spirit muttered, cheeks colouring.

 

Dwalin chewed slowly. “Are you okay?” he asked, “Your cheeks are red.”

 

“I’m fine,” Ori snapped, standing up. “Just eat.” Dwalin blinked and Ori turned into an owl again. “I’ll be back when you’re done.” Ori flapped his wings and disappeared, leaving Dwalin by himself, completely confused.

 

Dwalin ate slowly and looked around, wondering what the time was. It was dark around him, but he could hear birds singing in a distance. A few animals wandered by him, but they didn’t seem to notice him.

 

***

 

Ori didn’t understand. The human should not have been able to refuse him. Nori had told him it always worked for him! What had he done wrong?

 

***

 

When Dwalin finished the last of his milk, Ori reappeared. “How are your wounds?” he asked.

 

Dwalin moved his arms and legs carefully and patted his chest. “They don’t hurt anymore.”

 

“But are they healed?” Ori asked, not making a move to come closer or to change into his human form. Dwalin lifted the blood-soaked cloth to look at his wounds.

 

“I think so?”

 

“Can you walk?”

 

“Probably,” Dwalin said, carefully lifting himself onto his feet.

 

“Close your eyes,” Ori said, flying to Dwalin’s shoulder. Dwalin did as he was told.

 

“Why do I have to-” The birdsong around him turned louder and Dwalin could tell it got brighter around him, even with his eyes closed. Dwalin opened his eyes and it was in the middle of the day around him. “What…?!”

 

“I had to hide you into forest cover so you could heal in peace,” Ori said, “so predators couldn’t find you.”

 

“That was forest cover?” Dwalin asked. He has heard stories about it but he hadn’t actually known anyone who’s been into one. “Huh.”

 

“Go in that direction,” Ori said, pointing with his wing. Dwalin started walking.

 

“Wait, predators?!”

 

Ori huffed. “What did you expect? This is a large forest. There are a few bears in here.”

 

Dwalin pursed his lips and stayed quiet. Ori had a point. “Right.”

 

Soon they were out of the woods and Ori glided off from Dwalin’s shoulder and onto a tree branch. “I think you can find home from here,” he said.

 

“Aye,” Dwalin said, taking a few steps before stopping and turning towards the owl again. “Thank you, lad. Thank you for healing me and feeding me. I really owe you.”

 

The owl huffed. “You’re welcome,” he muttered.

 

“Remember that you can come to me when it’s time to repay my debt,” Dwalin said.

 

“Of course,” Ori said.

 

Dwalin hesitated. “I’ll… see you then, right?”

 

Ori nodded. “Until then,” he said.

  
Dwalin nodded too and walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> There was going to be more where Dwalin gets home and Balin was like "you were gone for three days brah" but I felt it would've felt like padding ahaha;; Maybe in a sequel. Maybe.


End file.
